


It's What We Both Want

by fangirlingovercaptainsauce (fangirlingovermishacollins)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Oblivious Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester Ships Castiel/Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester is So Done, Supportive Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24532228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirlingovermishacollins/pseuds/fangirlingovercaptainsauce
Summary: Dean doesn't realize how much he wants Cas, and Sam has to talk to him for him to figure it out.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Kudos: 75





	It's What We Both Want

It had been getting increasingly more difficult for Dean to treat Cas as just a friend.

It all started innocently enough. On a case, he, Sam, and Cas were asking a witness questions and her gaze kept drifting over to the angel. Thankfully, Cas was socially inept to the point where he didn't notice her lingering looks or the smile that formed on her face as she looked his body up and down. Dean had pulled Cas away as quickly as possible, leaving Sam to finish the interview. 

Dean didn't think much of it. Sure, it had made him uncomfortable to watch, but Cas was a brother to him, right? What if she'd been ogling Sam instead? Dean would have reacted the same way. So he brushed it off.

And now, he was stuck rereading the same few sentences in a lore book because it had happened yet again. Dean had insisted on checking out the bar in the town their current case was in and Cas joined him. The bartender, a guy with golden-brown eyes and black hair, had actually attempted to flirt with Cas. 

It was impossible to ignore. Dean had started to dread the day where Cas actually clued in to the fact that he was being flirted with, and flirted right back. 

Why did the guy have to choose such a good-looking vessel, anyway? Those blue eyes and lips that looked so soft and pink, and then his dark hair... it was unfair. All Dean wanted at this point was to take the angel for himself.

"You got anything?" Sam asked from their motel room's first bed. They'd gotten one room with two large beds, and Dean knew Cas didn't need sleep but damn, he wished the angel would just lay down next to him in one of those beds and let Dean hold him as he fell asleep. 

"Nothing, Sammy." Dean shut the book. "You?" He tossed the closed book on the bed Sam was sitting on. Sure, Dean was sitting on a bed of his own, and could have put it on his own bed, but he liked to annoy his brother sometimes.

"I can't find anything either." Sam closed his own lore book. "You want to call Cas?"

"Why the hell not. Maybe he'll have something," Dean said, picking up his phone. He didn't even need to look at the screen too closely to dial Cas's number. 

Cas rarely left the phone ringing when Dean or Sam called. At most, two rings and then he'd pick up. Any longer, and Cas was either in trouble or already hurt somewhere. "Hello, Dean."

"Hey. Think you could come over to me and Sam?" Dean asked, leaning back on the bed. It was surprisingly comfortable for a cheap motel.

"Of course. Are you alright?" Dean didn't need to see Cas to know the guy was probably sitting up straight, ready to fight and protect the brothers if necessary.

"Yeah, just need some help over here."

"I'll be right-" Cas said, then his voice sounded much closer, like he was speaking directly into Dean's ear. The hunter could almost feel the angel's hot breath on his skin.

"-here," Cas finished. He was literally right there in front of Dean. Oh.

"Missed you," Dean said casually without thinking about it. 

"I missed you as well," Cas admitted, surprised by Dean's words. Dean realized what he'd said a second too late. He looked over at his brother.

Sam was trying not to smile too widely, barely containing his laughter at Dean. He raised his hands in surrender, eventually letting out a quick laugh and apologizing. "Sorry, Dean," he said.

"Shut the hell up, Sammy." Dean pointed a single threatening finger at Sam. He turned back to Cas. "Think you know anything about this?" He turned his computer, open to the news articles about the 'strange, unexplainable' killings in the town, so that it faced Cas. When Cas leaned into him closer, Dean tried to ignore the unique scent of Cas's skin and didn't think about how it would feel to kiss him in that moment at all.

•••

The hunt ended up being extremely simple. A young couple-- a vampire and a werewolf-- were working together to pull off the killings of their victims. It only looked weird because of the way the bodies looked: evidence of both monsters' work that caused their deaths.

So the three of them sat at a bar, squished into a booth. Sam had one side to himself while Cas had joined Dean on the other. There was barely enough space to hold them both, though, and if Dean wanted, he could have moved his hand to stroke the inside of Cas's leg.

Their waitress, a smiling redhead, brought over three beers. Dean caught her eye and grinned, moving his arm to slip her an early tip. "Ahead of time," he said with a wink.

He would never have gone home with her. He just didn't want zero options if Cas didn't want him. He wanted to know he could still charm a woman (or man) into bed for a night if he ended up alone.

"Thank you very much," she said, lips curving into a flirty grin before she walked away. Sam rolled his eyes at Dean, pointedly glancing at Cas and then back to his brother.

Dean mouthed a 'shut up' to Sam. The interaction caught Cas's attention, and suddenly those blue eyes were on his green ones. "Did I miss something?"

"Oh, uh," Dean tried to say, but being caught in Cas's blue gaze was making it impossible to speak. "No," he found himself saying. "Right, Sam?"

"Don't worry, Cas," Sam agreed. "Just drink, okay?" Sam held up his own beer as if he were making a toast. 

"Alright," Cas said, nodding, and then he took a beer.

Instead of drinking it himself, Cas held it out for Dean. "Here you go, Dean," he said, offering it to the hunter.

"Hey, thanks," Dean said, smiling easily. He reached out to take the bottle, pausing slightly when his and Cas's fingers grazed one another and he felt some kind of spark pass between them at his touch. 

Dean didn't flirt or even look at the waitress the rest of the night, constantly trying to find reasons to touch Cas again.

•••

Dean almost kissed him. He came so close. 

Sam was out with another hunter in the area, leaving the two alone in the bunker. So Dean decided to show Cas some movies on his comupter. He was laying on his bed and searching for some of his favorites, dressed in a T-shirt and one of the few pairs of basketball shorts Sam forced him to buy, saying that if Dean joined him on his runs in the morning, he'd need something to wear.

While Dean had never even woken up early enough to run with his brother, he had to admit the shorts weren't completely uncomfortable, so he did wear them sometimes. Sam probably hadn't noticed; if he had, he'd be offering to run later in the day, to accomodate his schedule to Dean's.

Cas walked into the hunter's room, fully dressed in his usual outfit. Dean never knew why he didn't at least take off his trench coat when he was indoors. "Hey," Dean said, nodding. He patted the spot next to him on the bed, and Cas started walking over.

Dean suddenly stopped the angel from joining him on his bed, holding up a single finger. "You cannot wear that to watch a movie, Cas," he said.

"What's wrong with it? I always dress like this." Cas looked down at himself, then back at Dean, who was heading for his dresser.

"Trust me, dammit," Dean said as he searched through his drawers.

"You know I trust you." 

It was things like that that made Dean pause whatever he was doing. Whenever Cas said something that made Dean think that maybe Cas had some kind of feelings toward him (aside from the obvious), it was a surprise. Yeah, Cas could be very direct with his words, so it was possible.

"Aha!" Dean truimphantly held out a faded T-shirt and sweatpants. "Change." He pushed the clothes into the angel's hands.

"Alright." Cas nodded and right there in front of Dean, in one smooth motion, pushed both the trench coat and suit jacket he was wearing off his shoulders. Dean could only stare. The guy may as well have been naked, and there was no other way to put it: he looked damn good with less clothing on.

The tie hit the floor next, and it made Dean come to his senses. He looked up at Cas's face, but he was focused on unbuttoning his shirt. "No, Cas, just _no_."

"Excuse me?" Cas asked, head tilted in that way he always did when he was confused and trying to figure something out. 

"You don't change in front of me," Dean managed to say, all of his energy focused on not looking at Cas's exposed skin. He could still see it in his peripheral vision, though... 

He shook his head. "The bathroom's over there." He pointed to the door right behind the angel. 

"Oh. I apologize if-" Cas started saying, but Dean was fighting the urge to lean in close and breathe in his scent by nuzzling into the crook of his neck, so he gripped Cas's shoulders and turned him around. 

Of course he could feel how strong his body was through the stupidly thin shirt.

When Cas went into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, Dean leaned against the door's other side and exhaled in relief. He'd gone from being calm around the angel to having little to no impulse control at the sight of him. He'd known for a while now that he wanted Cas all to himself, but it had happened so fast.

He went back to his computer. Sammy had picked it out for him at a tech store after the brothers had saved the store's owner from a ghost haunting the place. Because of that, it was a newer model, and faster than his last one, and it took him no time at all to load up what he wanted to watch.

It was an action movie, and a pretty damn good one too. But every thought of the movie left his mind as the bathroom door opened and Cas came out of it, looking casual and relaxed and utterly gorgeous. 

The T-shirt was a little on the small side, but it looked like it had been made for Cas to wear specifically. It was faded, yes, but the faded blue worked extremely well with his eyes. The sweatpants were dark gray and just right: not too baggy but not tight on him either.

"Damn," Dean said under his breath. He cleared his throat. "You look comfy," he observed.

"These clothes are very comfortable, yes," Cas said, looking down at himself. 

"Keep 'em." Dean didn't even think twice about it after he'd said it. "You look good in my stuff. Way better than I do."

"If you don't mind," Cas said, smiling a little shyly. "Thank you, Dean."

"Anytime." Dean motioned for Cas to join him on the bed. "Now let's play." And the movie started.

Dean quickly realized that there was an issue. The computer screen was big enough for one person too see comfortably, but two people looking at it made it harder to see, especially when it was placed between their outstreched legs. 

"Know what?" Dean eventually said. "Get closer to me. Don't worry about personal space." And Cas did just what he was told, no questions asked. The angel's new position placed him almost against Dean's body.

When Dean didn't hit play for a few seconds, Cas looked up at him. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Cas. Yeah," Dean said, looking down at him. He could have leaned in right there and kissed him right on his tempting lips. But he forced himself to focus on the movie again.

•••

Dean had forced Sam and Cas to join him for a drink when they got back to the bunker after a hunt a few weeks later. Sam chuckled, commenting on how Dean must have felt really good about killing at least half of the vampire nest that was causing so many deaths in town. Cas smiled eagerly and, when Sam went to find the beers, put his hand on Dean's shoulder.

Recently, he'd not only been touching Dean more (and just thinking that sent the hunter's thoughts in a deliciously dirty direction), but he was also happier when he got to spend time with Dean. "I'll be right back. I'm going to change," he said to Dean.

It could have been because every piece of clothing Cas had on was soaked with blood, but Dean doubted it. Ever since the movie night, Cas had grown fond of wearing sweatpants and T-shirts around the bunker.

"You don't need to tell me," Dean said, smiling easily. "Go ahead."

Sam came back with the beers after Cas left. "Is he okay?" Sam asked Dean, looking around as if the angel had moved around the room somewhere.

"Yeah. Just changing," Dean said, relaxing in a chair. "Gimme a drink already, Sammy."

Sam sighed, smiling, and handed his brother the first bottle. Dean took a sip from it almost right away.

Which he nearly spat out all over the table when Cas joined them again, wearing sweatpants but no shirt-- at all. Had his body always been that strong-looking?

"Dean, I can't find my shirt." 

Sam laughed, covering his mouth with his hand. Dean looked anywhere but at Cas, nearly choking on his drink. And Cas, the only one unaware of the situation he'd just put Dean in, just looked confused.

"You sure?" Dean said after swallowing the beer in his mouth. Cas nodded. "Just get another one. What's mine is yours," he assured the angel.

Sam smirked at his brother when Cas left them again. Dean narrowed his eyes, but Sam knew he was just getting defensive and wasn't actually mad at him. "Enough," Dean said.

"I never said anything," Sam defended himself, his face the perfect picture of innocence. Dean rolled his eyes.

•••

They all had finished two beers each before Sam asked Cas and Dean if they wanted to get food. Dean said yes very enthusiastically, and he pretended not to see Cas's smile after the angel chuckled at him fondly.

"I'll get something," Sam offered. He reached for the keys to the Impala, and Dean just warned him that if he did anything to his Baby, Sam would be the one paying for the damage.

"You want to come, Cas?" Sam asked.

"I thought I'd stay here with Dean," Cas said, moving his chair closer to Dean's. "I'm sorry, Sam."

"It's okay," Sam promised the angel. "See you guys."

And now Dean was alone with Cas, both of them drinking and as a result, more likely to make stupid choices with one another.

"You could have gotten shotgun," Dean said after both of them were silent.

"I don't mind. I'd rather be alone with you than with your brother." Cas turned to fully face Dean. "Did you not want me here?"

"Hell no! Cas, you're awesome, okay? I freaking love being alone here with you." 

Both of them were shocked. Dean downed about half of his third beer, as if adding more alcohol to the equation would make the situation better.

"I'm very happy to hear you feel that way," Cas said, relaxing in his chair. "I assumed I was alone in that feeling."

And there went the second half of the beer. "No, you aren't, buddy," Dean said.

"That makes me feel much better," Cas said, but he put a bit more distance between them. "I value your... friendship... very much."

Dean sighed in relief. He would have hated to make things awkward. "So do I," he said. 

Dean knew Sam would suspect something had happened. He'd gone through four beers and was working on a fifth when the scent of fast food entered the bunker. "Took you long enough," he called to his brother.

"I had to find a place they delivered to, Dean," Sam said, shaking his head at Dean. "Here."

The food he handed to Dean smelled absolutely awesome. It was a cheeseburger, loaded with bacon and every other topping imaginable. "Mmm. Freaking amazing, Sammy."

He didn't even comment on Sam's small salad. He thought Sammy wasn't eating enough personally: how could a meal that size be enough for anybody? But he didn't say a word.

A piece of paper floated out of the bag and landed on the table. On it was a phone number. "Wanna explain?" Dean asked, looking at the number then at his brother.

"The delivery girl gave me her number, okay?" Sam huffed out a laugh. "It happens to you all the time, Dean."

"It does?" Cas asked, eyes locked onto Dean's face. 

"Oh, yeah. I've called a couple of 'em, but it was nothing serious." Clearly, this was the wrong thing to say. Cas looked like he was trying to think of something to say in response.

"I see." Cas pushed his chair away from the table and mumbled an excuse for having to leave the brothers. Soon, it was just Dean and Sam. 

And Sam was ready to ask questions. "Dean, you've doubled the amount of beer you had since I left. Cas is acting strange too. What happened?"

"Nothing! I swear. He said he valued our friendship or something." Dean took another bite out of his burger.

"You're a really bad liar, Dean. I mean, when it comes to Cas, anyway." Sam saw that Dean was about to finish beer number five and took the drink away from him.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Dean," Sam said, looking annoyed now. "Have you even tried to be honest with him?"

Dean sighed. "I never had the right moment, okay? This is Cas we're talking about here." 

"You had a lot of moments, Dean. You always have." Sam waited patiently for Dean to think, arms crossed. 

The movie night. Just recently, after Sam had left them alone to get food. Hell, even the bar, where they'd been practically sitting in each other's laps. Every hug, every time Cas nearly died to protect Dean (and Sam). Every moment alone. 

"What the hell do I do now, huh?" Dean asked somewhat sarcastically. 

"Talk to him, Dean. Be honest, and leave my name out of it. Do NOT use the word 'brother.'" Sam chuckled at Dean's cluelessness.

"If this doesn't work, you're in trouble, Sammy." Dean got up and left, knowing Sam was probably pumping his fists in victory or some dumb crap like that because he'd finally gotten Dean's head out of his ass. 

•••

Cas was, as Dean suspected, in the hunter's room. "Hey," Dean began, not sure how to say what he was thinking.

"Hello, Dean." Well, crap. Cas sounded completely indifferent to Dean at the moment.

"You're one of the closest friends I have, okay?" Dean tried. Cas looked at him, an eyebrow raised, waiting for him to continue. "But I'm a dumbass and had no idea why the hell you were so important to me."

"You just said it. We're friends, Dean. That's all we've ever been." Cas looked down at a spot on the floor. Something about him looked hurt, or upset.

"No, Cas. You're my best friend, yeah, but can't it be more than that?" Dean took a deep breath. "I know it's what you want, okay?"

"What does what I want matter now? You've made yourself perfectly clear." 

"It matters, Cas, because," Dean began, "hell, I want that too. I was a little slower to realize it, but I'm not lying to you." Dean looked down at the angel. His blue eyes were wide, almost hopeful, as he looked up at Dean.

"You said I was your 'buddy,'" Cas pointed out, his fingers making air quotes.

"And I was also a dumbass. You can forgive that much, right?"

"I can forgive you for anything," Cas said, his whole face lighting up.

"Good." It felt like the weight of the world fell off of his shoulders. Before he knew it, he had his arms wrapped around Cas, breathing in the scent of his dark, messy hair and sighing happily. "I've wanted to do this every time we've been alone," Dean admitted, pulling back to meet Cas's gaze.

Cas bit his lip, knowing without question what Dean was referring to. Dean licked his lips and Cas's blue eyes followed the movement. Then they looked up into the hunter's green eyes again.

"What are you waiting for, then?" Cas asked, his voice a low whisper.

"Nothing now," Dean said, and then he started gently kissing Cas, slowly at first but the enthusiasm Cas showed and his eagerness to speed it up made it so much better.

It was almost instinctive to press one hand into the back of Cas's head and tangle into his soft, dark hair, messing it up even more and making him look like even more of a kiss-induced, perfect mess. Dean's other hand pulled at the angel's T-shirt until he felt Cas's bare skin.

And Cas was a natural. He had been unsure as to where to put his hands, but then they were wandering all over Dean's body, eventually settling on his shoulders. He had little experience kissing, but made up for it in his eagerness and excitement, making it the best kiss Dean had ever had.

"Damn, baby," Dean said between breaths when he and Cas pulled apart.

"Thank you," Cas said in a quiet voice full of adoration. "Thank you very much."

"Want more?" Dean asked, smirking deviously. Cas's eyes darkened and he'd just pulled Dean in, Dean's body pressed right up against his own, when there was an interruption.

"Really?" Sam complained, but he was happy for Dean and Cas, and it showed in his eyes. 

Cas glared his displeasure at Sam, shutting the door without so much as a thought. "You're amazing, baby," Dean said to him with a laugh at Sam's expense.


End file.
